At the end of SKE48’s Team S stage today (17th January 2014), Satou Seira and Mukaida Manatsu announced their graduation.
This is the excerpt of their Graduation Announcement as translated from Scrambled Egg-san’s G+ post
Satou Seira
Me, Satou Seira, right? I will be graduating from SKE48.
Also, even though it’s so sudden, I will be graduating sometime at the end of February.
As for the reason for my graduation…
I’ve been with SKE for 5 years, and I myself have decided that all the things that I can learn in and with SKE, I have almost learnt them all.But I still want to continue my journey in the entertainment industry!
That’s right.
Even if it’s someone like me that’s not really supported by a lot of people, maybe one day I’ll be famous and the people in management will be like“Ah- If only we supported (pushed) Seira a little more back then…!”
That’s how famous I want to be!
And when I’ve achieved that, I’ll probably be able to stand in front of all of you again!Until that time, please don’t stop supporting me! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
Mukaida Manatsu
Me, Mukaida Manatsu, will be graduating from SKE48.
I will be graduating around the end of March. Come to think of it, last year around this time, I’ve started thinking about my future – and the more I think about it, the things that I need to think about increased over the course of time.
This year, I’m currently in the 3rd year of highschool, and I would like to concentrate more on my studies, especially studying for entrance exams to University… that, and I also think that I have to work even harder to make my dream a reality.
With these reasons, I have decided that I will be graduating.
The exact dates for their graduation stage is not yet decided at the moment of writing.
This is also brings us back to a rumor that surfaced in 2ch around the end of November last year. The rumor is about a list of members that were said to have either consulted the management for graduations or being advised to graduate.
The rumor also stated that for some of the girls mentioned in the list, management tried to slow down their graduation by making promises of highlights and so on.
As of now, 2 months after the list had surfaced, there are four names that already announced their graduation. The list is as follows (with the names of those that have already announced their graduations in bold text):
Team S:
Kizaki Yuria, Ohya Masana, Mukaida Manatsu, Satou Seira
Team KII:
Takayanagi Akane, Katou Rumi, Satou Mieko, Takagi Yumana, Matsumoto Rina, Yamada Mizuho
Team E:
Suga Nanako, Kinoshita Yukiko, Miyamae Ami, Mizuno Honoka, Yamada Reika
Kenkyuusei:
Yano Azuki
The rumor itself caused quite a stir within the fanbase, with the amount of prominent names within the list, either those already in the front line and also those expected to be the next generation stars.
Source: akb48sokuhou